Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Kodak Brownie Bull's-Eye 620 camera

Blog by Michael Raso

A few weeks ago I acquired a 1954 Kodak Brownie Bull’s-Eye camera from a local seller. It’s actually the second Bull’s-Eye camera that I own. The first in black Bakelite plastic (pictured above), the second is featured in my You Tube video below.

I took a bit of a gamble by loading and shooting with a roll of Tower black & white film that expired in October 1963. Tower was Sears and Roebucks “house brand” film. Al Kaplan on Photo.net said (of Tower film) – “I think that the (Tower) B&W film is most likely made by Gavaert, a Belgian company. They merged with Agfa towards the late 1960's. They made a film of about that that was widely available under private labels.”-http://photo.net/black-and-white-photo-film-processing-forum/00KCYv

above: Staples in Wayne, NJ. Shot the same day on the same roll of Tower 620 film

Please don’t think that the images captured on the extremely expired Tower film represents the image capability of the Brownie Bull’s-Eye. Experimentation with other film stocked yielded brilliant 6x9 photos as seen below.

About The Film Photography PodcastLaunched in October of 2009, the Film Photography Podcast is a 90 minute, bi-weekly Internet radio program, exploring a wide range of topics relevant to the experienced and aspiring photographer using film as a medium. Hosts Michael Raso and Duane Polcou enthusiastically dissect and debate the pros-and-cons of film formats, do-it-yourself techniques, digital technologies, and vintage and contemporary cameras and accessories in a thorough, informative and casual manner. Regular features include Camera tests and reviews, “book of the month”, interviews, a listener-generated Q&A, and film-related giveaways.